Argyle Park Blonde d’Aquitaine stud is situated near Mt Pleasant in the Adelaide Hills, only 60km from the Adelaide CBD. The property is in the narrow belt of terrain known locally as “big gum country”, the combination of loamy topsoil, deep, water-holding clay subsoil and reliable rainfall supporting the massive River Red Gums that the district is famous for. As well as the spectacular native flora, the climate and soil type also combine to produce ideal conditions for beef cattle production.
The stud principals, Julie and Ken Sieben, purchased the property in 2002 and commenced a redevelopment program aimed at building a “boutique”, quality Blonde d’Aquitaine stud to supply superior Blonde bulls to South Australian beef producers wanting to boost their productivity and profitability.
It was decided to use a line of more “traditional” Blonde heifers as the initial breeding stock, to take advantage of their phenomenal growth rates, and infuse them with softer, earlier maturing genetics. The results of this program are already being seen, with a number of very promising young bulls produced, and some quality heifers retained to further improve the breeding stock.